Lasting
by abyss-of-lights
Summary: Karin and Toushiro grew up side by side, through thick and thin. He was her comfort, and she was his light. One-shot.


**Here's my first ever fanfic! And of course, it's dedicated to my favourite ship; HitsuKarin!;)**  
**I hope you guys enjoy this! Review afterwards pretty please? With a cherry on top?;)**

**Anyways, enough about me. Please enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.(:**

* * *

"Mama, when are we gonna visit Shiro-kun again?" a 5-year old Karin asked eagerly.

Masaki Kurosaki kindly smiled down at her older daughter. "You really like him, eh? Maybe...a crush?" Karin blushed profusely, causing Masaki to chuckle. She really enjoyed teasing her children and making them squirm a bit. They were just too adorable!

"Of course not! T-that's stupid!" Karin stubbornly refused, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. "Just answer my question! We haven't seen him in forever, so I miss him, that's all!"

The Kurosaki family and the Hitsugaya family had been family friends for many generations, and they had always remained close. The Hitsugaya family only had one son, Hitsugaya Toushiro, and he was extremely close with the three children of the Kurosaki family. He and Ichigo were the same age, and Karin always played soccer with him whenever she could. He was slightly less close with Yuzu, but she saw him as a second brother nonetheless. Though he often appeared cold and aloof, he was extremely warm with those he was close with. This also included his sister, Hitsugaya Momo. Momo herself was quite the opposite of Toushiro; she was warm and kind, and always cheerful and bubbly.

Masaki grinned at Karin. "Actually, they'll be coming to visit us today!" she exclaimed cheerfully. Karin gaped.

"W-what?! You couldn't tell me sooner?" Karin cried out, obviously irritated. Masaki just smiled in response and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Now, now, no need to be upset! I'm busy baking cookies for today's guests, so why don't you go play with your sister for now?"

* * *

Karin sat by the river's bank, quietly sobbing. Her little chest heaved up and down as salty tears streamed down her face. Her mind was blank and couldn't register anything except for the fact that her mother was gone. She felt numb and hollow, unable to feel anything except despair and sorrow.

She and Yuzu had been out with their mother; the three were shopping for butter and flour to bake the cookies (Masaki had forgotten to do the groceries the previous week). On the way home from the grocery store, Karin and Yuzu were playing tag. They ran across the road, unaware of the green light suddenly turning orange, then red. The two 5-year old girls ran after one another, completely oblivious to the oncoming car. Karin noticed the car too late when her mother's screams finally registered in her ears. The last thing she saw was Masaki pushing her and Yuzu out of the way, the butter and flour falling out of the grocery bags.

Soon, her world was filled with red ink and she could only hear a buzzing sound in her ears and Yuzu's despairing wails. Karin's mind went blank and she could only stare at her mother's lifeless body. Her beautiful blonde hair was sprawled every which way, dirt and dust dirtying it. Her face and body were cold and pale with splatters of red, her eyes closed. Yuzu was kneeling beside her, shaking her and telling her to wake up. Karin saw that that the bag of flour had exploded, causing its contents to fly all over the place. She somehow registered that her shirt and shorts were now covered in a powdery white substance. A car lay on the other side of the road, lying on its side, a crippled person inside trying to get out.

Unable to stand the scene before her, Karin ran. Karin had always loved running. She remembered how her mother had once told her that she ran like the wind. The memory caused bitter tears to sting her eyes and she picked up speed. Karin wasn't even sure where she was running; her feet led the way instinctively. She soon arrived at the river where she and Toushiro often sat at to watch the sunset. There, Karin sat down and started sobbing her heart out. Coincidentally, the sky overhead turned dark and rain started pouring down.

After what felt like eternity, Karin noticed that her hair and clothes had become soaking wet, and were plastering on her face and body. Frankly, she didn't care. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Even the weather matched her mood; dark, stormy, empty. No hope and no light. Karin continued to sob, and she started shivering from the cold rain. The rain was wet and it penetrated to her bones, causing her to feel even number.

Suddenly, the rain seemed to stop and something warm covered Karin's back. Karin gasped a bit at the sudden change and whipped her head back to see what the warmth was. She was met with a pair of shocking teal eyes.

They seemed somewhat familiar...

"Shiro-kun..?" Karin mumbled softly. "I-is that you?"

Toushiro's face softened a bit, and he smiled slightly. Karin felt herself become just a bit warmer, since Toushiro hardly ever smiled. "Yeah. It's me," he replied. She noticed that he was holding a light blue umbrella with a snowflake design. _So that's why it suddenly stopped raining...But why do I feel so warm?_

Karin suddenly jumped when she noticed that her back was warm because Toushiro was _hugging_ her. Her mind instantly went back to the day's previous conversation with her mother about having a crush on Toushiro. Her face started heating up and she looked away from Toushiro's face. Then she remembered what had just transpired concerning her mother, and tears streamed down her face again. Noticing this, Toushiro just repositioned himself and started hugging her again.

Karin felt surprisingly comfortable in Toushiro's warm arms, and her once stiff body relaxed and cuddled into Toushiro's. She leaned her head against Toushiro and cried into his shoulder. "Shiro, i-it's all my fault! I-I should have s-seen the car c-coming but I didn't and n-now Mama is...Now Yuzu i-is sad, and Ichi-nii and Papa w-will surely blame me, and I-I just don't know what to do and-"

Toushiro cut her off by placing his warm hand over her mouth. "Sshhh. It's alright Karin. It'll be alright. I promise," he said softly. He just hugged her tightly, not knowing any other way in which he could comfort her. Thankfully, it was enough, and Karin snuggled against him comfortably.

After a while, Toushiro spoke up again. "Hey. Let's go back. Everyone's worried. We need to clean you up too. Look at all that flour!"

Karin slowly nodded her head and Toushiro stood up. He stretched out his hand to Karin and she hesitated slightly before taking it. When Toushiro put the umbrella away, she realized that it was no longer raining. In fact, the sky had become clear again, and the sun shone brightly beside a colourful rainbow.

* * *

It had been 13 years since Karin had last seen Toushiro.

After her mother's death, the Kurosaki family had moved to a small town; Karakura town. Unfortunately for the three Kurosaki children, they ended up moving somewhere extremely far from their previous home, meaning they were miles and miles away from their close friends Toushiro and Momo. Karin took the move the hardest, missing her two friends extremely. The first few months, she was constantly in tears, missing both her mother and her friends. After a while, Karin learned to control her emotions better and she promised to never cry again. Ichigo became increasingly more protective after the incident, and Yuzu became the new mother of the family. Even her father had become more serious (though an outsider could hardly believe that possible, as even now, he was extremely silly at times). Determined to contribute her own two cents to her family, she vowed to never cry again and have others worry about her.

She had graduated from high school successfully and got accepted into the university of her first choice. It was located really far from Karakura; rather, it was closer to her hometown. Yuzu had ended up going to a university closer to home.

Karin had adopted a happy and optimistic outlook on life despite her past, and she was proud of it. She was excited for university life and was determined to do well. She would make her family proud, especially her mother, who was watching from the skies.

The now 18-year old Karin Kurosaki was walking around the campus of her new university. The place was huge! She was never going to be able to find all her classrooms. Groaning slightly, Karin picked up the map of the campus ground (_again_) and tried and find room 2439. Her eyes scanned the map, completely confused as to where she was. She was at the cafeteria's doors right now, wasn't she? She looked up briefly and saw that the library was beside her. A second glance at the map let her know that the library was supposed to be on the complete other side of the campus. "Ugh...Why is this place is so confusing? Even the maps are confusing!"

"Are you sure it's the map that's confusing? I'm pretty sure you're holding it upside down," a cool voice said. Karin whipped around to glare at the rude stranger, only to come face-to-face to a pair of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She gasped inwardly when she realized that she recognized those sparkling emerald eyes. _Toushiro..? No way!_

The man in front of her was certainly not the way she remembered him to be. After all, 13 years sure can do a lot to one's appearance (Karin herself could testify to that, seeing as her childish face had matured into something most would call beautiful). Toushiro was no longer the short child who had always been made fun of; his face had matured into something that would have most girls drooling on the ground (Karin herself was trying desperately not to do that). His spiky white hair had grown slightly longer, and he had bangs hanging right above his left eye. He was dressed in a casual dress shirt, some dark jeans, converse, and a long turquoise scarf. Karin noticed that he seemed to have been working out, since his arms and chest were really toned. Karin's face turned red at the thought and she tried to refocus her attention elsewhere. His teal eyes were as bright as she remembered them to be, and she realized that they were twinkling with amusement at the moment.

"The first thing you decide to do after seeing me for the first time in 13 years is to ogle me?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"W-wha?! O-of course not!" she sputtered out in protest, face completely red. "It's just that you look really different!" He raised a white eyebrow at that comment but said nothing. "So uh...wanna tell me what you're doing in my university?"

"I'm a student here too. Are you sure they accepted you? You don't seem to be very bright from what I've seen so far," he replied cooly, staring pointedly at the map in her hands.

Karin's face turned even redder (if possible) at the reminder of how she was holding the map _upside down_. "S-shut up!"

Karin stared at the ground as her long dark hair swept past her shoulders to hide her face. Her hair had now reached her lower back and she had grown herself a nice set of curves, as all women did. Toushiro blushed inwardly at the thought and pushed it away quickly.

Toushiro cleared his throat. "Would you like a tour of the campus? You seem lost."

Karin immediately looked up, and her face brightened. "Sure!"

Toushiro's eyes softened, and he held out his hand to her just as he did so many years ago. This time, she didn't hesitate as she grabbed his hand with a grin on her face.

* * *

It had been half a year since Karin had started her university life, and Karin had to admit; she loved it. She had immediately reconnected with her white-haired best friend. Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone else, she had really missed him a lot, even more than she missed Momo. That first night when they bumped into each other had been the beginning of a blossoming relationship between the two. They had started out as former acquaintances and had quickly become best friends. Toushiro's mother, Rangiku, had been quick to comment on the two when she finally saw Karin after 13 years.

"Karin! It's been so long!" she had cried out as she ran over to suffocate Karin in a bear-hug. "My my, you've grown into quite the beauty! I'm so glad that you and Toushiro can be friends again. Though, from what I've seen, you two would make a very adorable couple!" she exclaimed with a wink. This only resulted in muffled protests and red faces.

Their friends and siblings had also been quick to comment on their strange best-friends-but-obviously-more-than-that relationship (even Ichigo, surprisingly, despite his overprotectiveness). The two had always been quick to deny any assumptions, despite how often they had (innocent) sleepovers, study dates, and (casual) dinners.

Karin was quickly brought out of her thoughts as someone started tickling her. "A-aahh! S-stop!" she managed to sputter out while glaring at Toushiro's handsome face (which was smirking).

He finally decided to stop (after a painful hit to his poor, unsuspecting forehead) and he stood up straightly. "Ready to go?" he asked with a warm smile, eyes twinkling.

Karin nodded in response, and wrapped her arm around his happily. Though the two were NOT dating, innocent body contact such as this had become perfectly natural for the two. They just viewed it as a sign of how close they were. It meant absolutely nothing; they were just best friends.

_Oh, who am I kidding?_ Karin thought to herself. She had always known that she was attracted to her white-haired best friend (maybe even since she was 5). But of course, she was a Kurosaki, and Kurosakis were stubborn. So Karin continued to deny her own feelings, while spending more and more time with Toushiro.

Tonight, the two were headed out to Hamburger King for a quick dinner before they headed back to their dorms. It was the end of winter break, and both of them had just returned from visiting their families. School was starting again soon, and they had decided to spend their last few days in the gym, playing indoor soccer. Time had flew by, and before they knew it, the afternoon sun had set, and it was 8:15pm. Karin's stomach had started growling so Toushiro suggested the two head out for a quick meal. Karin agreed eagerly and headed off to her dormitory to change out of her sweaty shorts and shirt (the two had been playing for so long that their hair and forehead were glistening with their sweat).

The two had agreed to meet in front of the gym. As their feet padded lightly through the fresh snow, Toushiro noticed that Karin's hair and face were still slightly damp from the day's previous activities. He blushed lightly as he thought of how attractive Karin looked with damp hair. He sincerely hoped that Karin would blame the cold for his red cheeks.

The two quickly reached the nearby Hamburger King and ordered two burgers, a large fries to share, and a large drink to share. It their friends or siblings had been there, they surely would've made fun of them for sharing a drink, but they honestly couldn't care less. They quickly finished their meal, and a comfortable silence fell over them.

"Thanks for playing soccer with me today. It brings back lots of good memories from when we were children," Karin said with a smile. Toushiro shrugged, his way of indicating _No problem_. The two got up out of the booth and exited the restaurant. Karin was starting to become sleepy and slightly groggy, so Toushiro decided that maybe it was time to go back and sleep. While the two were walking to Karin's dormitory (Toushiro always insisted on walking her home), Karin's foot accidentally slid on a small patch of ice. As her foot went up, the rest of her body fell backwards. Since her arm was wrapped around Toushiro's, she ended up dragging him to the ground with her.

_Oof!_

"Oww..That hurt Karin," Toushiro moaned.

Karin smiled sheepishly and mumbled an apology. Her face suddenly flamed when she realized that she had somehow landed on top of Toushiro's body. She quickly scrambled off. She was _definitely_ not sleepy anymore.

Toushiro stood up and brushed some snow off his pants before holding out a hand to Karin. Karin almost laughed, as she couldn't even count the number of times which he had offered her his hand. She gently placed her hand in his and tried to stand up. Big mistake.

"O-ow!" Karin cried out as she stumbled. Again. And landed on Toushiro. Again. And blushed. Again. This time, Toushiro was thoroughly annoyed, though worried at the same time.

"Ugh, stop falling on me Karin. But are you ok?" he asked with both annoyance and concern.

"I-I'm fine!" Karin stated indignantly. But it was obvious to both of them that she wasn't. Toushiro sighed and stood up. He then proceeded to pick Karin up, bridal style. This of course, resulted in a smack on the head.

"Stop being so violent Karin! I'm only helping you out," Toushiro stated angrily.

"Who says I need help?" Karin retorted back. With a pout and a small_ hmph_, she turned her face away from Toushiro. Toushiro couldn't help but chuckle and smile at her behavior. This was the woman he had fallen in love with.

Toushiro froze at that thought. Love? Was that what he felt for Kurosaki Karin? He continued to trudge slowly through the recently fallen snow, as he pondered his feelings for the girl he was holding. She certainly did make him feel a way no one else ever had. She made him _care_.

Did he always feel this way about her? He wasn't even sure anymore. All Toushiro knew was that she had been there throughout his life; ever since they were children, her cheerful and energetic self would warm his heart. She had always brought out the best in him.

Karin raised her head in question when she noticed that Toushiro had stopped walking. She gasped in glee when she realized he had stopped because it had started snowing. A tiny snowflake landed on her nose and she giggled. It reminded her of the umbrella he had brought with him to the river 13 years ago. She smiled at the memory and turned her face towards Toushiro's. Toushiro smiled warmly at her and sat her down lightly on a nearby bench before lightly brushing the snowflake off her nose. He sat down beside her and and the two watched the snow gently fall down.

Karin leaned into Toushiro and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt warm and safe with Toushiro. Toushiro tentatively wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder, causing her to relax even more. Time seemed to pass slowly as they turned to face each other.

Unsure of what he was doing, Toushiro gently cupped Karin's cold cheek with his gloved hand. He stared into her beautiful gray eyes that sparkled with life with his own teal eyes. Toushiro slowly brought her face closer to his, unaware of what he was doing. Soon his breath was on her lips, and Karin shuddered slightly.

Closing her eyes, Karin leaned forward slightly so that their lips met. Sparks ignited softly and Karin felt Toushiro's cool, minty lips caress her own lips. She sighed softly in contentment and kissed him back.

The two broke apart after a bit and glanced at each other shyly.

"That was my first kiss..." Karin whispered quietly.

"Mine too..." Toushiro whispered back. Deciding that he liked the feel of Karin's lips on his, his hand found her face again and he brought her face to his once more.

The kiss started out like the previous one; sweet, innocent, chaste. However, the passion that had been held back for too long soon started to show. Karin's arms eventually wrapped around Toushiro's neck, and her hands started playing with his soft, snow-covered white hair. Toushiro's hand slid from her cold cheek to her neck, then her waist. Soon, both his hands supported her back, as his lips started moving more.

Karin had never experienced anything like this, but she liked it. She liked kissing Toushiro, and his lips were warm and comforting. She sighed into the kiss and opened her eyes slightly. She smiled at the sight of Toushiro's face so close to hers.

The two broke apart for some much-needed air. Karin gazed up at Toushiro, and she smiled. Toushiro smiled back one of his rare, genuine smiles.

The two soon made their way to Karin's dormitory. A comfortable silence filled the air as Toushiro carried Karin back. Snow continued to land lightly on their hair and faces, causing Karin to giggle whenever it hit her nose. The two finally arrived, and Toushiro gently set Karin down before the door to her room (he had even insisted on carrying her up the stairs; thank god she was only on the second floor).

"Thanks for walking me back," Karin whispered shyly as she entered her room. She held the door open, almost inviting Toushiro in.

Toushiro whispered back in a husky voice, "No problem. Sleep well, princess."

Karin's face burned red as she slammed her door in Toushiro's smirking face. He _knew_ that she hated being called a princess, ever since her own idiot Father dressed her up as one for Halloween one year. Karin sighed. He had always been like that; he teased her constantly, yet he always genuinely cared for her.

Karin knew that Toushiro would always be there for her, through good times and bad.

* * *

Both Rangiku and Isshin were _much_ too excited when they heard the news that their children were dating.

"I can't wait for grandchild- Ow! My face!"

"Shut it, pops."

* * *

**Well, that's that. Hope you enjoyed!:D Now, go review, please? Thank you!**

**~abyss-of-lights**


End file.
